Police said the 46-year-old man stopped at the Grey and Blue Bar off Lincoln Square.

He left the bar around midnight Thursday and was walking south on Baltimore Street when he had an exchange with some people in a car.

Police said people in a small blue car passing by, taunted the man, saying he was homeless. The hiker yelled something back and the car turned around.

The man tried to get away from the car and went into an alley, police said. The blue car cut him off and two men got out and poured an unknown flammable liquid on him. The other man lit a match and set him on fire.

"I've been here 30 years and we've never had something like this," said Sgt. Kevin Wilson of the Gettysburg Boro Police Department.

Wilson said the people in the vehicle drove off, leaving the victim burning in the alley.

"At that point I'm sure he's not trying to get a description of the vehicle as you might in another crime. At this point he's trying to put the fire out," Wilson said.

Police said the man sustained burns to his arm, chest and scalp. The flames were so intense they burned off the victim's shirt, camping pack and a good chunk of his hair.

"I've never heard of something like that before in all the years I've lived here," said a resident named Donna.

Donna said she lives around the corner.

"How could they do it? Why would they do it? Don't they know that's painful?" she said.

Police are looking at security footage and going door to door trying to find out more information.

They hope somebody will call them about what happened so they can get some answers.

"As long as we can get information, we'll work it," Wilson said.

The victim is getting help from the community.

A nearby rescue mission gave him clothes, a barber shop gave him a haircut and a Gettysburg hotel is putting him up until he can get more treatment for his burns.

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